By Zephyria 
Beside the sink, beyond the hazy glass partition, the naked body of an adult male was visible. It was Eden.
Shwaaa─ Just then, water gushed from the shower hose.
“Ah, I didn’t realize you were here.”
Ha-jin, trying to hide his embarrassment, floundered about and draped the dress shirt he had been carrying over his shoulder again.
“Just shower together.”
Ha-jin’s hand, which had been about to button up, stopped abruptly.
“The water pressure is unstable. In this situation, it wouldn’t be strange for the water to cut off at any moment, so it’s better to shower together quickly while we can.”
…Well, in an emergency, it would be stranger to be prudish with someone of the same gender. Without much hesitation, Ha-jin tore off the dress shirt he was wearing again. He was too embarrassed to take off his pants, so he shuffled awkwardly towards the sink.
He kept his gaze on the floor, trying not to look at the man’s body as much as possible. Was it a physiological aversion, or the result of a subtle power struggle? Ha-jin looked around the awkward bathroom and smeared toothpaste on the toothbrush stuck in a glass. The cool mint scent refreshed his stuffy mouth.
The old mirror was covered with strange waterproof stickers for things like business trip massage. Ha-jin, counting the number of stickers by rolling his eyes, eventually frowned. He tried to ignore it, but his reflection in the mirror was too much of a mess.
‘Ha… This is the worst.’
His rain-soaked hair was matted like someone who hadn’t washed their hair in days, and he could see a scratch below his right jawline and on his neck, where he must have gotten scratched. The dark circles under his eyes, from having only slept in snatches, were dark and sunken. He never dreamed he would return to the motel looking like this.
Where did it all go wrong? Would it have been better if he had held a solo show somewhere other than Sangwon City? If he had invited Jun-seok, as Mi-so had suggested? His thoughts bounced around like cooking oil poured onto a hot pan.
Ha-jin stared blankly at himself in the mirror and brushed his teeth.
He felt even more depressed when he thought of the can of beer he had put in the refrigerator to celebrate his first solo show. He wouldn’t be able to fall asleep sober, so the thought of having a beer and going to bed crossed his mind.
While he was brushing his teeth, his feet became damp. When he looked down, he saw cheap shampoo foam and water flowing under the partition. The foam was light pink, as if blood had been washed away with it.
“Ugh.”
Ha-jin stepped back and shuddered. Just then, Eden, who had finished showering, fixed the shower head to the wall. He swept back his wet bangs and turned his head towards Ha-jin, who was making a fuss.
“What are you doing?”
He glanced at Ha-jin, who was still stubbornly clinging to his clammy suit pants, as if he were strange. Ha-jin spat out the foam in his mouth with an awkward expression.
“I just wanted to brush my teeth first.”
It was an answer that sounded like an excuse even to his own ears. He lowered his head, cupped water in his palm, and rinsed his mouth. Ha-jin, who had been diligently moving his cheeks, raised his eyes from the sink and glanced at the mirror. Eden brushed past him, shaking his bangs. Huh.
‘What did I just see?’
The man’s unaroused penis was hanging down to the middle of his thigh. The dark pubic hair and the branch, which was twice as thick as others even before arousal, flickered before his eyes. The trainer-like, well-defined muscles next to it, and the faint tattoo on his left forearm, didn’t catch his eye as much.
Eden took out a large towel hanging on the towel rack.
“I’ll use this for a bit.”
He calmly dried his hair. Ha-jin, who was gaping with a blank expression, hurriedly turned his eyes to his lower body. He was glad he hadn’t taken off his pants. Otherwise, he might have witnessed the sneer that flashed across those obnoxious eyes.
While Eden quickly dried his body, Ha-jin hurriedly hid inside the shower booth. Eden, who he thought would leave first, was standing in front of the sink.
Even through the hazy glass partition, the overwhelming difference in size was felt. Ha-jin, who had never been told he was small compared to others, felt his shoulders shrink involuntarily next to him.
Ha-jin, watching him, wriggled and took off his suit pants and drawers. He roughly pushed the discarded clothes behind him, and as soon as he turned on the water, an astonished groan burst out involuntarily.
“Ah, tch!”
Cold water poured down on his head. As he frantically turned the knob towards the hot water, a monotonous laugh echoed through the old bathroom.
“By the way, there’s no hot water.”
He tells him now. Ha-jin shivered and glared at his silhouette. He ducked his head into the water and held his breath, and the icy temperature began to feel lukewarm. After wetting his clammy hair, he squeezed a generous amount of cheap shampoo into his palm.
While he was massaging his scalp, he heard the sound of wet clothes rubbing roughly against the partition. Ha-jin narrowed his eyes and looked at the figure doing laundry. If it were transparent, it might be different, but looking at the precarious body beyond the opaque glass partition, stained with water stains, made him frown involuntarily.
Ha-jin turned off the water to save water and thoroughly cleaned his scalp. Thud, thud. Even in the midst of this, the sound of vigorous hand washing echoed through the quiet bathroom.
“Why did you do that earlier?”
Ha-jin’s eyebrows twitched at Eden’s sudden question.
“Huh?”
“Do Ha-jin and Yun Mi-so could have been in danger.”
…Now, at this moment, he’s asking this question? Between people who are practically strangers, in the middle of taking off their clothes and washing their bodies, isn’t this a foul?
When Ha-jin, flustered, didn’t answer, the man continued. He expressed a fundamental question about Ha-jin’s rescue operation.
“Besides, I’m the one who abandoned you.”
Eden’s low voice bounced off the bathroom walls and echoed in his ears. His already deep voice had an echo, causing unwarranted tension in the listener.
Only then did Ha-jin realize why the man hadn’t readily offered him words of gratitude. Look at this, Ha-jin narrowed his eyes.
“Aha. Jeong Tae-geon, you’re afraid I’ll cling to you again.”
“……”
“You even time your thank yous.”
Soon, the sound of the faucet being turned off and the water being wrung out of the dress shirt was heard. Eden didn’t answer, as if he had been hit right on the mark.
He squeezed out body wash and rubbed his stomach, and foam streamed down his thighs. A sigh escaped with a sharp voice.
“You risked your life to save me, so let’s get some thanks.”
Ha-jin was ashamed even as he said it. This was like forcing someone to bow down and thank him….
Thap, thap! Eden, who had shaken out the dress shirt, replied nonchalantly.
“I apologize for being rude the other day. Thank you for saving me earlier, and thank you for providing the place.”
“So, where’s the next destination?”
Ha-jin asked, passing over the forced thank you without any emotion. The other person seemed flustered and was silent for a moment.
“…I’m still sorting things out.”
Ha-jin turned on the water again, washed all the foam off his body, and then turned off the valve. The loud sound of water that had been ringing suddenly stopped, and his ears went numb for a moment.
Ha-jin suddenly reached out his hand beyond the partition. Eden, understanding the signal to hand him a towel, handed him the large towel he had been using.
“Isn’t there a new one in that drawer?”
“No.”
Ha-jin pouted. He didn’t have any particular germophobia, but the thought of it being the towel Jeong Tae-geon had used made him feel spiteful for no reason. Ha-jin, fiddling with the damp towel, exhaled a short breath through his nose. Helplessly, he put the towel on his head and diligently dried his hair.
While he was shaking his hair, he suddenly heard a clear and bright sound. Ha-jin, whose spine suddenly went cold, hurriedly called out to him.
“Wait a minute, Jeong Tae-geon.”
“……”
“Are you brushing your teeth right now?”
“Eh.”
Eden, who answered as if he had something in his mouth, was heard brushing his teeth again. Ha-jin shouted, stammering.
“There was only one toothbrush out there, and it was mine?”
“……”
“You didn’t use mine, did you?”
Chika chika….
“Jeong Tae-geon, why aren’t you answering?”
Ha-jin’s face gradually turned white. He was about to jump out of the partition when he realized and stepped back again. Ha-jin stretched the towel vertically and hurriedly covered his chest and genitals. Even then, he wasn’t confident, so he only peeked his face out from beyond the glass, looking restless.
Jeong Tae-geon’s broad, inverted triangle back filled his vision. His shoulder blades were constantly moving.
“No, right? You’re just kidding, right?”
Chika chika…. Jeong Tae-geon’s shoulders trembled slightly, as if he was laughing. Ha-jin’s face finally turned red and blue.
In the end, Ha-jin couldn’t stand it and came out of the partition.
“No, there’s a code of conduct, are you really crazy? Even so, using someone else’s toothbrush…!”
Eden, who was lowering his head to rinse his mouth, glanced up. Ha-jin and Eden’s eyes met beyond the old mirror.
Eden didn’t avoid his gaze and slowly scanned Ha-jin’s eyes, nose, philtrum, neck, collarbone, and chest through the mirror. Ha-jin’s throat tightened at the binding gaze. He unknowingly crumpled the towel he was awkwardly holding under his nipples.